Last update - 00:00 21/05/2007
Dichter: In hindsight, achievements did not justify decision to go to war in Lebanon
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter told the Winograd Committee investigating the Second Lebanon War that had he known the results in advance, he would not have voted in favor of the decision to go to war, according to testimony released Monday.
"I think that had they placed UN Security Council Resolution 1701 on the government's table on July 12, in the least I would not have recommended going to war," said Dichter.
"Naturally, this document was not placed on table and he were essentially in a completely different situation," continued the former Shin Bet chief.
The committee asked Dichter at length regarding the July 12 cabinet meeting and the positions he presented.
He stressed that during the meeting he had already reached the conclusion that air strikes against Hezbollah would lead to rocket fire on northern Israel. Nonetheless, he said he believed the Israel Air Force would be able to reduce the rocket fire.
When asked why he voted in favor of the war despite his doubts, Dichter responded that he believed that the war would only last a few days.
"It was clear that you can't destroy an organization from the air, dealing with an organization of this size requires deterrence, no less than physical confrontation," said Dichter. "At the end of the day you reach a sort of balance in which you as a state should stop, and they as an organization should stop."
Dichter added that he was opposed to the IAF's massive bombing of the Dahiya quarter in southern Beirut on the third day of the war, saying it was "the point in which I believe we influenced the campaign, the pace of escalation, and in my opinion, we shouldn't have done it."
"It was clear that these were very, very massive attacks, that were almost reminiscent of 1982," he said.
Dichter added that once he realized that the IDF had warned the area's residents prior to the strikes, "and it became clear that we are attacking real estate and not people, I asked myself I do we need to do this."
According to the minister, then-chief of staff Dan Halutz responded that the strikes would "shorten the duration of the war."
Dichter said he did not oppose the air strikes during the cabinet meeting because doing so would have been "difficult and certainly unpopular," despite the fact that he was convinced the bombing would "not shorten the duration of the war, and could even escalate it."
According to Dichter, Israel should have focused the brunt of its military might on the areas from which Katyusha rockets were being fired, and not on Beirut.